1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an apparatus for approaching and practicing golf and, more particularly, to an apparatus for practicing aligning the head of a golf club with a golf ball to be struck by the club head.
2. Background Art
Many factors contribute to the consistency and overall success with which an individual plays the game of golf. For instance, a golfer's stance. the trajectory of the head of a golf club during a swing and the position of a golfer's hands on a golf club are but a few of the many variables which affect the path a golf ball follows after being struck.
In addition to the foregoing factors, it generally is recognized that a determinative consideration in the results achieved by a golfer is the position at which a golfer maintains the head of a golf club relative to a golf ball prior to and during impact.
More specifically, it is desired that a golfer strike a golf ball with the impact center or "sweet spot" of a club face. The impact center is established by the distribution of mass in the club head. As is generally known by those skilled in the art, when an article is struck with the impact center of a rigid object, reaction force applied to the object acts through the object's center of inertia and, consequently, does not tend to rotate the object. In the case of a golf club, by avoiding rotation of the club head, the club does not impart side spin to a golf ball which otherwise could cause the ball to drift from a desired path to a target.
Moreover, it is known that a golf ball is more likely to travel along an intended path when the club face is square to the ball at the moment of impact, which is to say that the club head at impact preferably moves along a path which is perpendicular to the face of the club. The orientation of the club face is particularly important with regard to putting.
A variety of devices have been proposed for improving the ability of a golfer to strike a golf ball with the impact center of a club face and for improving the ability of a golfer to a hold the face of a club head square to a golf ball. Prior devices have considerable shortcomings, however, and generally have failed to provide the anticipated results.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,389, issued Feb. 6, 1990, discloses a golf club having a plurality of impact sensitive transducers. After repetitively striking golf balls with the club, a golfer obtains a readout from a monitor associated with the transducers to ascertain whether the balls are being hit at the sweet spot of the club head. Not only does this approach require a significant investment in pressure transducers and signal processing equipment, but a golfer cannot practice his technique without actually striking a golf ball. Thus, a golfer is faced with the inconvenience of repeatedly retrieving golf balls and, in addition, the technique only can be practiced in an area sufficiently large to accommodate the travel of a golf ball. Further, the disclosed device fails to provide a solution to or even address the problem of hitting a golf ball squarely.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,722, issued Dec. 22, 1981, shows a device wherein the attitude of a club face at impact is measured with an optical sensing apparatus. Light is projected from a remote source onto a reflective impact surface of a golf club when the club is swung. Reflected light is focused through a series of fixed lens and provides an indication of the orientation of the club face at impact. This latter device requires the provision and accurate alignment of lenses and a light source remote from a golf club. The disclosed technique therefore can be practiced only at the site of the lens/light fixture. In addition, the '722 device is incapable of providing feedback as to the relationship between a golf ball and the sweet spot of a golf club.